EVEN THOUGH I have walked this world for seven decades and more, life continues to shock me with its volatility. Sometimes it smiles at you, and then kicks you in the guts just as you are getting ready to smile back. Yesterday, November 4, was born sunny. And by 10am, the day had me on my knees, grieving.
Tariq Bhat, THE WEEK’s senior special correspondent in Srinagar, died at around 8:30am. He developed chest pain and a hospital pronounced him dead on arrival. At 7:21am, he had sent his usual message to a colleague, checking on her and wishing her a beautiful day. In just over an hour, he left us for good. He was just 54.
I was supposed to meet Tariq in Delhi on Friday, November 7. Instead, his photo sits in our Delhi office today, amidst a mound of flowers offered by heartbroken colleagues. And I am left behind, struggling to pour my grief onto this page, struggling to find words to comfort the family. His wife, Rehana Tabassum, teaches English at Delhi Public School, Srinagar. They have three children: twins Muhammad Thaha and Sehra, and Amsal.
As I sit in my office, I can see him seated across the table from me, where I interviewed him in 2001. The Malayala Manorama’s then editorial director Thomas Jacob, too, was present. By the end of the interview, Thomas Jacob and I had no doubts about Tariq’s talent and abilities. In the 24 years that followed, he rewarded our trust manifold with his integrity, fearlessness and nuanced reporting from Jammu and Kashmir. Reporting from the valley is quite different from doing it in any other part of India. But Tariq did it with a rare sensitivity and patience.
The opening spread of his award-winning article.
In 2014, the International Press Institute (India Chapter) honoured him and chief photographer Arvind Jain with its annual award for their story on Dardpora, the village of widows. His last article for THE WEEK was filed on the eve of his passing, an article on theweek.in about the annual shift of the government to Jammu.
When we once held a bureau meeting in Srinagar, Tariq was chuffed and organised it all. He wanted everyone to visit Kashmir and extended that warm hospitality to all colleagues. Knowing that I have loved Kashmir since my college days, he would sometimes bring me a taste of the valley. Rarely, gushtaba, the king of Kashmiri wazwan. Mostly, fragrant kahwa. As you abruptly walk out of my life, dear Tariq, you leave behind a fragrance that has perfumed THE WEEK’s pages and my life. Go in peace, and wait for us across the bridge.
This week’s cover is an article that Tariq would have been proud of. Former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina chose us to publish her first article written in exile. In the exclusive article, she admits to “instances of injustice” and “mistakes” made during her regime. She adds that Bangladesh is a powder keg waiting to explode, and speaks frankly about Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus.
Additionally, we have an article by Mohammad Ali Arafat, former information minister and central leader of the Bangladesh Awami League. Chief of Bureau (Delhi) Namrata Biji Ahuja, who obtained both Hasina’s and Arafat’s articles for us, brings it all together with her analysis of the current situation and the Delhi-Dhaka relationship.
Let me stop by congratulating our Women in Blue for putting us on top of the world. Three days late, yes. But is there ever a bad time to say a good thing?